Notre Dame fourth in final AP poll; NU 17th, NIU 22nd

January 08, 2013|Sports Xchange

Coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates with the trophy after defeating Notre Dame in the 2013 BCS national championship game. (Getty Photo)

Alabama completed a national championship sweep when it was voted No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll, while Notre Dame tumbled to fourth after a 42-14 drubbing Monday in the BCS national championship game.

The Tide was ranked No. 2 heading into the postseason. Results of the AP vote were released a few hours after the game in South Florida, and the Tide received all 59 first-place votes.

Northwestern moved up to No. 17 after beating Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl and NIU slipped to No. 22 after losing to Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

Alabama (13-1) earned its ninth AP national crown, snapping a tie with Notre Dame for the all-time record. The Fighting Irish (12-1) slipped to fourth place in the AP rankings, behind Oregon (12-1) and Ohio State (12-0).

The Ducks blasted Kansas State 35-17 in the Fiesta Bowl, then saw coach Chip Kelly interview for NFL jobs before apparently deciding to remain in Eugene.

The Buckeyes were ineligible for postseason play because of past NCAA violations.

After Notre Dame, the rest of the top 10 consisted of Georgia (12-2), Texas A&M (11-2), Stanford (12-2), South Carolina (11-2), Florida (11-2) and Florida State (12-2).

Notre Dame and Florida were the only teams in the final AP Top 10 that lost bowl games. Louisville upset the Gators 33-23 in the Sugar Bowl. The Cardinals (11-2) jumped from 22nd to 13th, the largest gain in the season-ending AP poll.